


Scent of  Peaches, The

by orphan_account



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s03e08 The Women of Qumar, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-02-15
Updated: 2002-02-15
Packaged: 2019-05-15 19:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: She could still clearly see his gesture fromthe Press Room, and her mind took her back in time as she soaked in the tub.





	Scent of  Peaches, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

 

Disclaimers: The West Wing and it's characters are the  
property of Aaron Sorkin, Warner Brothers and NBC. No  
copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being  
made from this.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: The Women of Qumar

Summary: She could still clearly see his gesture from  
the Press Room, and her mind took her back in time as  
she soaked in the tub.

The Scent of  Peaches  


She unlocked the door to her apartment and went  
inside. She was carrying a small bag which contained a  
pint of ice cream and a package of cookies. It had  
been a long time since she had felt like eating a pint  
of ice cream would be a good idea, but she definitely  
felt like it was tonight. Of course a nice hot bath  
seemed to be in order as well. In fact that seemed  
like what she should do right now.

She went into the bathroom and started to run the  
water. She looked for her bath salts and bubble bath.  
It had been so long since she'd had the time to take  
the luxury of taking a long bath. She found a gift set  
of bath supplies that had actually been a birthday  
gift from Toby. When she had opened it and then looked  
at it, he had told her that peach always reminded him  
of her. She poured a little bit of the bubble bath and  
broke the bath salts up. She then sunk into the tub.  
She could still clearly see his gesture from the Press  
Room, and her mind took her back in time as she soaked  
in the tub.

They had met a little over a decade earlier. She had  
only been out of graduate school for two years, and in  
many ways she still felt the world was her oyster.  
She'd found him irritating from almost the moment they  
met. He got under her skin, like no one had before or  
since. She hadn't taken the time to analyze it,  
although she did admit to enjoying their verbal  
arguments very much.

She dipped her hair into the water, as she remembered  
it hadn't taken very long for those arguments to turn  
into something else. They had been arguing one day and  
somehow that argument had turned into a kiss. Neither  
knew who had begun the kiss. One moment they were  
arguing, the next moment she was pressed into the wall  
and they were kissing passionately. They hadn't slept  
together that night. It had taken a few days for that  
to happen. The gentleness and reverence he displayed  
when he touched her surprised her just a bit. Judging  
from the passion their arguments provoked in both of  
them, she had not expected lovemaking between them to  
be as gentle as it was. She had felt very secure as  
she fell asleep in his arms.

After that they had become almost inseparable. She  
remembered the first time she saw the gesture. She had  
been going to a meeting, a meeting which would be very  
trying. He caught her eye across the room and that  
was the first time she saw it. She hadn't known what  
it meant, she just knew it made her feel a little  
better. Later she had asked him what it meant. He had  
replied that it meant he supported her, and then he  
paused for a moment and said it also meant he loved  
her. She looked at him for a moment and then kissed  
him passionately. For weeks, her body had been saying  
she loved him, that night she actually said the words.

Before tonight, the last time she saw the gesture,  
she had been standing on her apartment stoop watching  
him get into a cab. They had been together for nearly  
two and a half years and now their careers were  
putting the entire continent between them. They had  
decided ending it would be easier than trying a long  
distance relationship. So for the last time she was  
looking at him as her boyfriend. The next time they  
met he would just be her friend. She put her hand  
against her heart as he got into the cab and watched  
him leave.

Somehow, their friendship had survived his marriage  
to Andi, it's inevitable end, and the string of  
boyfriends she'd had over the years. Now, they were  
working in close proximity again. Given some of their  
arguments, she was surprised they had not ended up  
kissing each other. During the time they had been  
together, she had discovered it was the only effective  
way to shut him up, and he had discovered the same  
about her. Somehow she guessed they had more respect  
for their current workplace, than they'd had for  
previous ones.

The sound of someone knocking on her door, startled  
her from her thoughts. She quickly got out of the tub  
and started to dry off. She heard the key turn in the  
door. She was certain it was Toby because he was the  
only one who had a key to her apartment.

"CJ..." He called.

"I'll be out in a minute." She replied.

"Okay. I'm just going to sit on the couch."

"Mi casa es su casa."

He laughed. "Yeah."

She came out a moment later. "What do you need?"

"You said you were going to have ice cream."

"You came here for ice cream?"

"Yes."

"Toby, you pass how many stores on the way home?"

"I've never counted."

"You could have stopped and bought ice cream."

"You told the reporters to share the cake."

"So I should share my ice cream with you?" She  
laughed a little bit.

"Yes."

"One condition."

"What?"

"What did it mean today?"

"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I support you..."

She heard the pause. "And?"

"You're absolutely right."

"Okay." She went to the kitchen to get the ice cream.

He walked to the doorway. "It also meant the same  
thing it always has."

She turned around. "It did?"

"Yes."

"Okay." She continued to scoop out the ice cream.

"CJ..." He had expected a little more of a reaction.

"Yes?"

"The same thing that it's always meant."

"I understood that."

"Okay."

She turned around again. "So you love me?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Since you walked into my office."

"Toby!"

"It's always been true, there's just a difference  
between love and being in love."

"So it's being in love now?"

"You're asking all the questions here."

"What do you want to know? If you want to know if I  
love you, the answer is yes."

He stepped towards her. "Yes."

"It's being in love?"

"Yes."

"So what are we going to do about this?"

"I don't believe that should be too hard to figure  
out."

"Oh?"

"No." He looked at the bowls of ice cream. "Ice  
cream's going to melt."

"It is?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because we're going to forget all about it." He said  
just before he kissed her.

As she found herself pinned against the counter, she  
discovered a decade had not diminished the passion of  
his kisses.

"You used the bath stuff." He said.

"Yes."

"Peach has always reminded me of you."

"So you told me." She replied just before kissing  
him.

Later, she discovered just as the decade had not  
diminished the passion of his kisses, neither had it  
diminished the gentleness of his lovemaking.

The End.

 


End file.
